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1,800 new Canadians poised to lose citizenship: Kenney
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Richard J. Brennan
; S' `+ h+ H U# a, B# DNational Affairs Writer 0 ^& Y2 ^' D9 y; n" E
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1 I d% \& b% [. m' K$ eImmigration Minister Jason Kenney confirmed Wednesday that as many as 1,800 new Canadians could be stripped of their citizenship because they were obtained fraudulently.
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“We are in the process of notifying them that we will be revoking their citizenship because Canadian citizenship is not for sale,” Kenney told the Economic Club of Canada.* l' m$ I( z" J9 L2 n
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Kenney said some of the individuals are believed to have used “unscrupulous” immigration consultants who submitted fraudulent applications on behalf of people who did not meet the qualifications for citizenship.; A! k' S3 O! m; k- t: _5 ~* O
$ `( i- R; G7 r0 A6 b2 V( QThe 1,800 were identified following a three-year investigation by the RCMP, other police forces and Citizenship and Immigration Canada.% M- I3 |& i5 d9 O
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“By the way, we are not done with our investigation” Kenney said, noting that many of the accused live outside the country.
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9 q) M, P& @3 M' w9 wThey can challenge the decision in Federal Court. If not, Cabinet will move to revoke their citizenship.
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Citizenship revocation is relatively uncommon in Canada with only 63 people being stripped of their citizenship since 1977, Kenney said.0 R) j( ]2 D7 s% d0 [$ U6 |/ F1 O
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Most were for reasons related to residence fraud, criminality and false identity, or concealing their involvement in war crimes.) i- d" v9 n, Y( y' }9 u T8 w
( p' H9 v0 o: ^' dSpeaking in Vancouver on Tuesday, Kenney said Ottawa is trying to discourage immigration fraud.
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$ W7 a0 `* _! l“For those who simply touch down and try to get a Canadian passport as a … passport of convenience, who don’t pay our taxes but who do consume our social benefits, I think that’s dishonourable,” he told reporters after delivering a speech to the Vancouver Board of Trade.
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“There are many ways that we are combating immigration fraud and abuse of our generosity, whether it is from [bogus] asylum claimants, crooked immigration consultants, people smugglers [or] people who are abusing our citizenship program,” he said.0 h: p5 L& H3 Z2 r- p" i: s _
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Kenney also announced that Canada will soon be introducing multi-year visas for low-risk visitors from around the world that will last 10 years. |
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